Who knew it was City that had Duncan Edwards all this time while we were waiting on Jones.
Manchester City under Pep Guardiola | Pep on City v Liverpool ref: "He likes to be special"
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That doesn't tell full story. Bayern's squad was miles better than anyone in Bundesliga and they just started dominating it. Pep joined them at the right time.
Yeah. I'd have our four first 11 defenders over yours all day apart from Kompany who's crocked.
Seems like they will very likely be adding:
Sane
Stones
Jesus
Minimum to Gundongan, Nolito and that other chap.
Would that represent a good window for them?
It's certainly a heavy financial outlay at £170m or something.
I think they may add another player or two on top.
Sane
Stones
Jesus
Minimum to Gundongan, Nolito and that other chap.
Would that represent a good window for them?
It's certainly a heavy financial outlay at £170m or something.
I think they may add another player or two on top.
Bayern has been in the CL final 3 times in 4 years before Guardiola came.
It's the usual Guardiola conclusion - That whatever he achieved would also be a foregone conclusion under any half decent manager.
That would be a huge haul of young attacking talent but I'm not sure it would be enough to have them winning the league this year. They still need at least one more midfielder and at least one fullback in my view. And while players like Sane and Jesus could become world class in time, I don't see them being huge difference-makers immediately.
Yes. Yes they are.
Let's not ignore you lost to an Inter side in 10-11 who got knocked out 7-3 on agg to Schalke!
The only team of note you beat in the knockouts in 11/12 was Real(on pens) and lost to a very poor Chelsea team in your own back yard..
In 2009-2010 scrapped by Fiorentina and United on away goals, beat a decent at best Lyon side and lost to Inter in the final.
Hardy anything to write home about, you can go far in tournament football if you get great draws and luck. Portugal just stole a European championship due to favourable draw and luck. The best teams can have their share of luck, Barcelona included. Know Bayern get wanked over on here in the treble season but it's not as special as made out. Arsenal came close to knocking you out, sneaked top spot over Valencia on away goals or something. Played excellent vs Juventus right enough, Barcelona with an unfit Messi and two poor ref decisions ended the tie in that period. Dortmund more than matched you in the final, arguably performed better in the final against Chelsea.
Bayern were obviously a great team with numerous talented players, but people go over the top to downplay Guardiola's achievements in the three seasons domestically.
I didn't say anything about where they finished, in terms of individual ability the performances Messi, Iniesta and Xavi were displaying was nothing short of sensational, all he did was get them playing football.
And in regards to Bayern that is an odd statement, they won the treble with a less polished team the year before he came. His performances in the Champions league involved getting stomped by every Spanish team out there, those 2 Real Madrid games shows that his understanding of the game, despite being elegant and dominant at times, can be flawed.
Like I said, one of the best, but I think this will be his first real test. Not to add, the achilles heel to his possession based style is a tactic that is very prominent in the Premier League. He'll have to adapt.
Some would say taking over a treble winning team is a test in itself. In my view the Barcelona job was a huge test that he passed with flying colours, some people still to this day refuse to give him the credit he deserves for what he accomplished. The decisions to get rid of Deco, Ronaldinho etc and bring in Alves, Pique, Busquets was fantastic. People fail to remember the squad of 22 players in his first year included the likes of Hleb, Keita, Slyvinho, Bojan, Caceres, Viktor Sanchez and Pinto. 8 of the 22 were part of the first team for the first time that year. The job he did that season is criminally underrated IMO.
Guardiola makes mistakes like every other manager and his decisions against Real at home were shambolic as was him changing the Barcelona system to a suit Fabregash. Barcelona were unreal over both legs to be fair in that SF. Was a bit unlucky against Atletico.
Agree that this will be a massive test for him, he has lots to do to change this City side.
Meh. I prefer a different type of fake taxi video, but each to their own
Playing Fernandinho in defense is exactly what's exciting as a Utd fan. He'll get a reality check in EPL I'm sure of that.
Great video. 2.59 the kid has a microphone under his shirt - don't know how much was planted.
Don't see why Fernandinho can't play at centre back. Not guaranteed to work, but even Lucas has looked ok at centre back in brief spells in England.
He looked solid there when he briefly played against United in defence after Demichelis had to be subbed for his shambolic performance. Fernandinho is hugely underrated on this forum and always has been, so it's no surprise people are laughing at Guardiola's comments. I imagine a fair few people had the same response when Guardiola started playing Mascherano as a CB too, and look how that turned out.
No kidding.
He'd better start now then. Only 2 weeks to go before the big kick-off.
Seriously though, whether Pep wins the PL or not in his first season here or not it won't be for lack of awareness of the task ahead. His, and his team's, research and preparation for opponents and conditions are meticulous to the nth degree and he needs no lessons from us on that count.
You have just made the point. This is EPL not La Liga
I don't doubt that, I wouldn't expect any less, simply being prepared isn't enough though, as LVG showed. (Not comparing them as managers, simply their attention to detail etc.) With his star players being either very injury prone or starting to age, he has a task ahead of him unlike he's ever had imo. You can argue he brought through the kids at Barca, but players like Xavi and Iniesta don't come along often, I certainly don't see anyone in City's academy capable of such performances, anyway.
He will most likely be in for a shock in his first season, it's physical and it's all about the goals, not the elegance like he may be accustomed to. I expect him to do very well once he's realised that domination stuff most likely won't sit well here and if/once he finds his winning formula.
Should be easier to adapt then.
Everything i read about pep reminds me of van gaal.
Did you say overweight players?
Old, out of touch and with all his best achievements years in the past?
Well, judging a players defensive performance from a game against van Gaal's United isn't the best way to be honest. And yes, he's underrated on this forum but the same can be said about you and your overrating of him. He's not that good of a player, but he's not that bad either; he's decent.
I'm not surprised people are laughing at the idea of Pep playing Fernandinho at CB either because it's a tad silly. I don't think he'll be as bad as some are expecting to see but I doubt he'll do your team justice there either. Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't he more of a box to box CM than a defensive one, though being able to fill in there? The midfielders under Pep who've ended up making the switch from CM to CB have been defensive minded ones like a Mascherano, Martinez, and occasionally Busquets. Players like Fernandinho that made the switch such as Keita and Song, if memory serves me right, didn't justify the switch and were only used there if completely necessary. When he had a proper CB pairing he didn't resort to playing CMs there. The only times I can remember him doing that was at Barca when they needed a goal, he pushed Pique up and had Busquets drop. I mean, I think Vidal's a pretty similar player to Fernandinho, albeit better, but never once did Pep play him at CB even though his midfield options were well stocked.
I don't see Fernandinho playing at CB much, if at all. Especially if you land Stones. Though, if he were to play there, I wouldn't be surprised to see you look very vulnerable.
Well to be fair, i kinda get an elliot from mr robot vibe from pep, and you could say his best achievements were with barca, but he isn't old i give you that.
But you've just said that he needs to adapt to the PL and now readily admit that he will have done.
Van Gaal is a fine tactician (his CV proves that he has qualities) but his man-management skills, let him down (as was predicted before his tenure at United began by objective analysts).
Guardiola rivals Ferguson and Ancelloti in getting the best out of his players.
You're right that City's star players have had their share of injuries. Kompany in particular plus Silva and to an extent Aguero have missed plenty of games for that reason.
You make reference to City's Academy. Do you follow it closely or are you basing your opinion merely on first team appearances? If you were to read up on the Academy you would see that they are National Champions in most age groups. They also have some hugely talented kids coming through the ranks who Pep will be looking to blood when possible and are acquiring some elite overseas prospects with a view to the future.
Maybe he can't call on Xavi and Iniesta from day one but I reckon it's just a matter of time and with the likes of Iheanacho, Sterling and KDB around we are hardly Dads Army.
You then revert to saying that Pep is in for a shock what with the physicality and all. We've covered this already in the preparation issue. Whether he succeeds or fails in Year 1 it won't be down to poor awareness of the task.
Keita never played centre back for Barcelona, or anywhere but midfield (was dropped for CL final because he didn't want to cover at left back) and Song joined after Pep left.
Yaya Touré played centre back at times under Pep though, and I'd say he bucked the trend you're referring to. I agree that I don't think Fernandinho will end up playing at centre back much, but don't think he'd be a disaster - better than natural centre backs like Mangala and Demichelis anyway.
I didn't see much of Barcelona in the years Touré was there, and only saw him at CB in the 09 final, so I can't comment on him. Though, I'm not surprised he did well there considering how good a player he was, and can still be at times.
I'm sure I saw Keita play at CB a couple of times or so around 2010ish. Not often as I said, but I'm sure I saw him there a few. I was surprised because, as I said, he wasn't a pure defensive midfielder so I wasn't expecting to see him there. Maybe he filled in at the end of a game for a few mintues or so occasionally and it stuck with me.
I thought Song joined in Pep's last season so my error there.
Still, compared to the midfielders Pep's used at CB in the past I don't think Fernandinho fits that mould, and can only see him playing there if necessary. He wouldn't be a disaster, no, but I think it's still risky from Pep to play him there unless he goes for a back 3.
I don't know what reinforcements he's brings no in but as it is, heir midfield is too weak to be turning midfielders to CBs.
Yeah, 100%. That's definitely a bigger issue than whether Fernandinho would be suitable to switch to centre back.
There is a huge difference between being prepared and adapting, so no, I didn't. Van Gaal's issues weren't solely down to man-management, it was his stubborn nature that was the nail in his coffin IMO. He was aware as well as anyone that it just wasn't working but he refused to alter his ideas. Will this be a problem that also plagues Pep? Personally, I don't think so, but I didn't think so when Louis was announced either, we'll have to wait and see. I find it hard to believe he will develop a winning formula instantly, he will have to chop, change and alter his ideas and personnel, whether or not he finds one, I don't know, going off his track record, he most likely will.
It's no secret that City look half the team when Aguero is unfit, which is a shame for City as he's seemingly unfit always, he gets a run of games, gets some form then is plagued with injury again. Considering your only backup is Bony and a 19 year old with very limited experience, that could be an issue.
To compare City's academy prospects or even KDB, Sterling and Iheanacho to Iniesta and Xavi isn't even worth discussing. They're in the conversation for the best ever midfielders, could you develop a talent as good as them one day? Maybe, the same way any club could, don't see it happening anytime soon though. Iheanacho looks a very good talent, but so did Januzaj at one stage.
How can his success or failure not be a determinate to his preparation? Especially coming from City fans, the majority of you for the most part think he's the best manager in the world and will get you guys unprecedented success. Therefore if his perfect preparation is so identifiable as you claim, wouldn't he be able to sign all the players he needs and instruct them on how to win? He isn't exactly struggling when it comes to the dosh he's been provided.
You can prepare all you want, he won't truly understand the Premier League until he starts competing in it. Is this the best league in the world in terms of quality? Not by a long shot, that's what makes it so interesting though. Teams will be happy to let City dominate them for 90 minutes.
It's going to be a very exciting season, nonetheless.
Really? You as a Barca fan are going to criticise refereeing decisions following the way that you knocked Chelsea out in 2009?
Jesus-Nolito-Sane
Aguero
in 2 years that could be an insane front four.
or flop
Aguero
in 2 years that could be an insane front four.
or flop
Hardly.
Edit: I'll give you Shaw though.
If they manage to push De Bruyne out of the team then it's because it's insane.
overrated
I think they'll buy another player after those yeah, either way I'd say that's a very good window with an eye on the future.
Sane is a very good player, although I think they could do better. Stones has huge potential and Guardiola should be able to get him focused. He's only 22 remember. Nolito is possibly the bargain of the summer, excellent player for next to nothing.
Jesus has the potential to be a very special player I think. Handled right he could be a household name, they may even start praising his name. Seriously though, insane potential. Obviously, Gundogan and Aguero need to be available, but if they are then they're two of the best around on their day.
I'd put them as title favourites but I think Pep might have an adjustment period in the PL, so we'll see.